Photo by www.katietphotography.com Coffee with half and half is one of my favorite things in the world. During my first pregnancy, I didn't drink any coffee in my first trimester and limited myself to one cup only a few times a week after that. After all, studies have shown correlations between too much coffee and miscarriage in the first trimester... Right? Even my OB said I had nothing to worry about. Regardless, I just couldn't be too careful the first time around. Fast forward to my second pregnancy and I can honestly say that with a 2 year old, I don't think I would have survived the wild days and sometimes long nights of the second pregnancy without my regular cup each morning. And let's be real, I just like it.
I had great plans for my second pregnancy. Being a yoga instructor and behavior analyst with a chiropractor as a husband, I had this lofty goal of writing a book journaling my pregnancy and making it the healthiest possible pregnancy I could inputting the knowledge and education I have gained through the years. It was going to be called, "Diary of a Healthy Pregnancy." Hahahahahaha! All I can do is look back and laugh at my sweet naivety and excitable spirit. At first, I was really down on myself for not measuring up to my own expectations of how I could (and thought I should) move through my second pregnancy. I had such little energy and was so nauseous for the first half of my pregnancy, the only thing I wanted were the 2 B's: bagels and burritos. So I ate them. I also ate my share of greens, but for a person who loves salads, you would think I was chewing on grass. Each bite nearly made me gag. Yeah, I was a great health and wellness role model... One major difference in my second pregnancy was my teaching prenatal yoga throughout. In the early super-sick-I-don't-want-to-throw-up-on-you days, I taught mostly sitting on my mat or walking around the class giving verbal cues. As I felt better I worked my changing body giving more modeling cues, but one thing remained the same throughout: I was teaching my soon to be mommies to listen to their bodies. Yoga has taught me a myriad of things, one of the most valuable being to listen and tune in with my body. This has been both a blessing and a curse because you start to notice things you didn't before. Ignorance can definitely be bliss when tuning out what your body has to say. Ultimately though, when you tune the messages out, you pay for it in the long run. Chronic pain and sustained injuries can be consequences of that ignorance. The beauty of hearing the body is that you are able to care for your body the way it needs and wants you to. This takes time, stillness, focus on the breath; all things you have a chance to do during a good yoga session. When you quiet the mind and begin to listen to your body, it will tell you, "Move in deeper," or, "Back off there." When you pay attention to what your body tells you, you are able to find another level of self care and in doing so your body can feel it's best. During pregnancy, this practice of attending to the body's messages is an even bigger asset and a tool for a healthy delivery. When you listen to your body, you are listening to your baby. It's the first step toward being a good mother. Partway through my second pregnancy, I heard my own teaching and realized that I didn't need to have the perfect pregnancy. I didn't have to eat only kale and chicken for 9 months. I just needed to continue to tune in and give my body and baby what was essential for that moment. Sometimes it was rest. Sometimes it was movement. Sometimes it was a salad... and sometimes it was a bean and cheese burrito! If I can urge pregnant mommies to do anything, it is to find a good prenatal yoga class during which you can learn to tune in and listen. This one thing can change the course of your pregnancy and birth of your most precious being, your baby.
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